"'Get offski! Rotten turnovitch!' These bearded Russians, these stern
critics, shout, 'Rotten turnovitch!'

"Fire shoots from the eyes of the German. This strong man's eyes.

"'Get offski! Swankietoff! Rotten turnovitch!'

"The fury of this audience is terrible. This audience. This last court
of appeal. This audience in its fury is terrible.

"What will happen? The German stands his ground. This man of blood and
iron stands his ground. He means to go on. This strong man. He means to
go on if it snows.

"The audience is pulling up the benches. A tomato shatters itself on
the Prince's right eye. An over-ripe tomato.

"'Get offski!' Three eggs and a cat sail through the air. Falling
short, they drop on to the orchestra. These eggs! This cat! They fall
on the conductor and the second trombone. They fall like the gentle dew
from Heaven upon the place beneath. That cat! Those eggs!

"AA! At last the stage-manager--keen, alert, resourceful--saves the
situation. This man. This stage-manager. This man with the big brain.
Slowly, inevitably, the fireproof curtain falls. It is half-way down.
It is down. Before it, the audience. The audience. Behind it, the
Prince. The Prince. That general. That man of iron. That performer who
has just got the bird.

"The Russian National Anthem rings through the hall. Thunderous!